“Your human kin.”
“Indeed, Nina delivered them.” She shook her head slightly. “Directly in Matt’s office at the university.” I was unaware that I was in labour until my amniotic sac ruptured. They arrived promptly. There was insufficient time for the paramedics to arrive.
Heard him exclaim, “I ought to have been present.”
“Improbable regardless of our history.”
Observed him scowl at her when her phone rang. She distanced herself from him to respond, exhaling at the caller ID; it was Tim. She was unwilling to engage in a conversation with Tim in Luke’s presence. She was uncertain about his actions. Would he remain silent and attentive? Would he retrieve the phone from her? request that Tim cease all communication and refrain from contacting her in the future? Inform him that they are now in a relationship. She was entirely unaware, simply cognisant of his temperamental disposition.
He observed the caller ID, Tim, and sensed Maddis snarl faintly within his thoughts, although he remained uncomfortable with the notion of another person contacting his Mate. Luke had to tell him that she had not belonged to them for many years and that they had not been without another either.
“Mine now,” Maddis growled at him.
Indeed, she will terminate her relationship with him. Recognises the necessity. Has accepted us, Maddis.
Shall I proceed immediately?‘
“I am uncertain.” Luke observed her, perceiving her struggle to determine whether to respond. She glanced at him, and he recognised her desire for his absence from the room. He disapproved, yet he was unable to compel her to answer that call or terminate the contact while he observed her; he wished to advise her to proceed, but he was powerless to do so.
Her human existence, which he had imposed upon her through exile, remained an unresolved chapter, with Tim being an integral component of that realm. Unfortunately, Tim was a result of his and Maddis’s own decisions.
“Instruct her to.”
“No,” Luke instructed his beast. “Bella, respond to it; I will grant you some privacy.” He asserted, then pushed away from the counter and exited the room to fulfil that intention. “We must trust her; allow her to proceed at her own pace,” he conveyed to Maddis while heading towards his bedroom. He would shower and change, leaving her to her tasks. She need to resolve matters with that man, according to her terms. Instructing her to do that would just incite further anger towards him. As it occurred this morning, he was rather averse to that outcome. I found it unappealing when she severed her connection with him. I found it entirely unappealing.
She had never expressed anger towards him when Mia arrived; instead, she immediately receded and acquiesced to his desires, a pattern he now recognised. Now may be the opportune moment to reciprocate that courtesy, demonstrating to her that he might exhibit the same behaviour. Provide her with the time she need.
After showering, he contemplated that particular day and the fleeting days preceding the expulsion of Maddis, reflecting on her emotional state. He had been indifferent at the moment, consumed with the Mate Bond. He had not approached her at all.
He abandoned her the moment Mia’s smell reached him; Bella had been present among the pack that day and was aware of it. Observed them together, noting that they had been Marked and Mated within a day.
He closed his eyes and reclined against the shower wall, regretting ever having met Mia. This situation would not be occurring at present. He would have been astonished by the revelation of her pregnancy. However, he was aware that he would have asserted his claim over her, since he had no desire to be with anybody else while he was with her. He never gazed upon another she-wolf since their union.
She would have been his Luna prior to the birth of the triplets; he presumably would have gazed at her, and after overcoming the astonishment of impending fatherhood, drawn her close and bitten her, mating with her immediately. Likely would not have sought her consent, but would have just asserted ownership over her.
His offspring would have been born and raised here among the pack, excessively indulged not just by him but also by his and her parents. No conflicts would arise between him and young Karis. Would be content to ride on his shoulders, referring to him as father.
He sighed hard while leaning there, mentally connected to Macky, and posed the question he was reluctant to have answered: ‘Macky, when I first saw Mia, did you perceive anything from Bella?’‘
“Why enquire of me at this moment?”was the response he received from his Gamma.
Luke furrowed his brow at the man’s reply, “I am intrigued,” he enquired. Macky was not known for evading questions.
“I did not observe her significantly; she predominantly maintained her distance, I believe.”
“Therefore, you are unaware?”’
“No, although I could speculate based on her sentiments towards you at that time.”
He did not require such information from his Gamma; Bella had consistently maintained a joyful and humorous dynamic with him. He understood she was not his Mate and did not appear very devoted to him. He remembered they had enjoyed themselves, believing that was her perspective until now, until she spoke the words, ‘Do I want to know?’He enquired.
She had affection for you. I stepped aside the moment Mia arrived and then…
“I was utterly reprehensible,” he concluded his Gamma’s statement.
“Affirmative,” was the response, with no hesitancy whatsoever. It is probable that everyone shared the same sentiment.
Luke severed the mental connection; his own Gamma had been aware of her affection for him and would have likely perceived it, yet she had never spoken it, not once. Not even after he had exiled her. The outcome may have differed had he been aware.
However, he could not ensure it; he struck his head against the wall three times before turning off the water and exiting. Another item on his list for which he would need to provide an apology. It would be as lengthy as his height at the current pace he was maintaining.
